When you’re about to start a major e-commerce website engagement, you’ll likely have a number of in-depth conversations around the Design Requirements and Development Requirements associated with the project. Naturally, these represent the bulk of actual work associated with creating an e-commerce website. However, there is a third group that is just as necessary in making the project a success, what we call the Business Requirements. The E-Commerce Business Requirements are all those items that need to be addressed in order for the e-commerce business to run successfully. These span across everything from handling taxes to managing shipping rules. Luckily,...

When a client comes to us, nine times out of ten, they're looking to modify their website due to one of the following three reasons: They're unhappy with the conversion rate of their current website Their brand or products have changed substantially enough to warrant a new website There is an operational, management or technology issue grave enough to require migrating or updating their e-commerce platform In any one of these three instances, it's our job to figure out what is the most effective means of addressing the issue. In order to do this, we need to articulate the e-commerce...

Recently I had the chance to sit down with Brian Anderson, Founder of Dem Vibes, and discuss his experience starting an e-commerce business. Dem Vibes is a leading brand for high quality EDM inspired clothing. Brian started Dem Vibes in April 2015 and in less than 6 months into the top 2% of Shopify stores for growth performance and traffic. During our conversation, we explored how Brian got started with Dem Vibes and some of the advice he wish he had received when first getting off the ground. In this article, we'll look at four key take-aways from that conversation that...

Customers don't buy products, they buy stories. They have particular brands they love not because of their logos, but because of the stories they tell. They act as brand ambassadors and share content (for free) because of the stories embedded within that content. An often-cited example of the impact storytelling has on e-commerce is that of the Significant Objects project (http://significantobjects.com/about/) by Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn. Rob and Josh purchased a collection of random knick-knacks for $129 and used professional writers to craft unique backstories for each product before placing them on eBay. The result was turning that $129...